


her tomb by the sounding sea

by arsynia (ElderFairy)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 09:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16172039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElderFairy/pseuds/arsynia
Summary: i hold the world but as the world, gratiano,a stage where every man must play a part,and mine a sad one.-merchant of venice ( act i; scene xi)





	her tomb by the sounding sea

**Author's Note:**

> _i hold the world but as the world, gratiano,_  
>  a stage where every man must play a part,  
> and mine a sad one.  
> -merchant of venice ( act i; scene xi)

you were born under an executioner’s stand, his blade cold and heavy, dangling above your neck. but whenever the sharp blade started to fall, somebody else replaced you.

your happiness started and ended with a hamster your father gifted you when you were 4. it was alive and vibrant one day and dead the next. as you leaned over the small puddle of blood, you swore you heard a slip of a voice talking to you.

“time’s over.”

as a child, so young and naive, you started crying. it took your sibling two hours to calm you down as you babbled nonsense.

in that moment, you could have sworn somebody else was in the same room as you.

years later, it started with a fever. then, it spread to your sibling, and before long both of you were confined to a single room.

you thought you saw a blade, an executioner’s blade, dangling above both of your necks. of course you had to let your sibling know. only they could provide the comfort you needed.

“no, it’s not your time yet, little dove,” your sibling’s weak voice croaked out as they gently petted you. yet still, you couldn’t deny the tug at your heart, feeling it peel away layer by layer, as you laid next to them.

only you made it.

when your sibling’s health waned with each passing day, yours improved significantly. loneliness quickly drew you into a restless frenzy, forcing you to commit impudent acts around the house to garner some type of attention.

finally, something appeared in your sibling’s absence, a thing that must have been your imagination, but a friend no less. you called him connor because you’ve always wanted a brother with that name.

he would often be quite mischievous, taking your blanket and forcing you to play tug-of-war with him. at other times, you had to tease him with a rubber ball, throwing it at where you thought his presence was. he would toss it right back and soon, this became a daily ritual. you quickly realized that he wasn’t part of your imagination, but something real.

then the news came.

your sibling was dying and they requested to see you. the rubber ball was left on the ground as you ran to their room. you hesitated until you felt invisible hands pushing you to them.

even at the brink of death, your sibling had a smile on their face. “…death, little dove, isn’t scary. it’s the loneliness before death that is. i hope your life is full of people who love you and cherish you. so that when you go, you will go happy and content.”

though you couldn’t understand their words, you nodded, promising them you will be happy and loved. their voice held so much strength and optimism that you thought everything would be alright. just as you let go of their hand, you saw something hovering over your sibling. a shape in the form of a black dog, dipping its head down and baring its fangs.

“don’t touch them!” you shrieked, watching the dog tear out a shimmering orb of light from your sibling’s body. soon after, their chest stopped heaving and their body goes still.

the only sound that came was a scream from your mother. you collapsed onto your sibling’s body, face pallid with grief and fright.

behind you, connor materialized out of the shadow, where the dog had gone. only you saw him just as mother grabbed you and cried onto your shoulder.

he offered you a smile, too cold and mechanical to be human.

—–

connor often made his presence known, not as a dog nor shadow, but as a boy your age. when you had no one to play with–which was more times than you could count–he appeared.

the blankets became stretched too long from the war game you initiated. threads soon started tearing and sooty fingerprints were left on some of them. mother had to scold you in order for you to stop. you couldn’t tell her about connor; she wouldn’t believe it.

one day, connor stole your rubber ball and hid it on a shelf you couldn’t reach. so you lied to your father that you had accidentally tossed it there.

behind you, connor laughed, soft and boyish.

he reminded you of your sibling and you knew that he was the one who took them from you. even still, you couldn’t say you hate him; at least, not yet.

and you understood, even as a child, that he wasn’t human at all.

but you were also lonely and you needed someone to be with you.

 

—–

you were 8 when your mother died. but it should have been you because it will always be you. you stood on the executioner stand, only to have somebody replace you.

the paramedics were going to be here, someone said. but you knew, deep within the recesses of your heart, that it was too late. the same creature, except now a towering thing with horns, gripped your mother’s body.

by the time it dragged the ball of light into the darkness of the shadows, the ambulance arrived. you never forgave their untimely appearance, or yourself.

if you hadn’t asked to take a walk with mother, then she would’ve been here.

“it’s not your fault,” connor’s soft boyish voice whispered to you. “your mother’s life was short, but she died holding you in her arms –– she was happy.”

his words were too clinical to be of comfort. in the end, tears started rolling down your face. another part of your heart turned hollow and dark, another part of you lost to death.

later, you wondered if it was true that humans can die from heartbreaks. a neighbor’s dog died soon after his owner died. of course, connor was the one who told you this.

“but,” he reminded. “humans are not capable of dying from heartbreaks.”

time passed and you grew older. you befriended a few people, but in the end, they too met an untimely fate.

first, it was a homeless man.

you both talked about simple things, pleasant things. he drew out the introvert in you and you learned that you should go to college and get a degree.

“nurses help, they mend and they heal,” he told you, eyes staring at the sky with fondness. “i wish i could start my life over again.”

he died of hyperthermia during one december night–you watched over him.

as connor reached his hand into the man’s chest, the man turned to you and smiled. “thank you for being here with me, take care.”

then, he was gone, just like your sibling and your mother.

“why did it have to be him?” you asked connor, when he appeared the next day. he was now a silhouette surrounded in rising shadows and dripping smoke. vaguely, he still resembled a human. to you, he was now a monster – a _fiend_.

“it had to be him.” connor’s response was firm, pressing itself against the side of your head.

for several days you ignored him.

until you could ignore him no more.

the old lady next door was the few adults who still looked at you with a gentle gaze. you were no longer partial to the ways children and adults acted when they saw you. to them, you were an omen of death, a cursed soul destined to bring ruin upon others.

“they are too scared to face death.” the old lady would say as she sat on her chair out on the porch. you had once again gone to her for peace. connor was nowhere to be found, but his absence was a sign of fortune rather than misery.

sometimes, the old lady would let you place your head on her lap. school took the energy from you to do much else, so you napped more than you should. this ritual went on for a whole month until you noticed her house was up for sale one day.

connor finally appeared to tell you of her passing.

“her death was coming; it’s a natural cause,” connor said, just a slip of a voice upon your shoulder. yet you still felt an ache deep inside your bones, seeping slowly into the caverns of your heart. “she lived a good life.”

“it should have been me,” you whispered, digging your face into your hands. “i wanted to die ever since mother died only for someone else to die for me!”

the only response was a silence that gradually faded into the noise of life around you.

—–

you had always appreciated the presence of animals, in particular, small furry ones. so you adopted a black cat from the animal shelter and took it to your apartment. it was a year later that the cat showed signs of death.

he was laid out on your lap as you sobbed. the pained noises of your cat prompted you to attempt to soothe it, petting down its locks of black hair until its cries stopped. but then came the worry, that it had passed away. you didn’t want both but both were what you were looking for.

the quiet of your apartment couldn’t cover the wind that howled outside. connor arrived, unfurling himself from the shadows and the smoke. you looked at him as you would always, with anger and hate.

“i’m begging you, don’t take him,” your voice was a silent plea as you tucked the cat’s body close to your chest. a weak cry escaped its throat before its head hung limply off the ground.

connor was wordless as he stooped down, casually brushing a finger against the cat’s pelt. you almost wanted to tear yourself away from looking, knowing that he would do what he always did. instead, his eyes turned towards you. “your cat is in pain and it wants to die. give your kindness to it one last time and let it go.”

this was just another one of his attempts to have a soul. but as you looked at your cat’s body, hearing its labored whistling breathing and the way its cries sounded pained and miserable, you couldn’t help but be pulled by his words.

slowly, your hands curled away, revealing the rest of your companion’s body to connor. for a second, you could have sworn its tail moved from side to side – as if it was happy. connor reached out, placing three fingers in-between the cat’s ears. within seconds, its body became limp and heavy.

“thank you for this time,” connor said, standing up as he straightened his tie. “the cause of death was a genetic virus, he was lucky to have made it past six years.” his form devoured your own, but you couldn’t care less. you had lost another friend to the hands of death. what did you think would happen when you picked up the cat from the shelter? nothing will live long enough when they were with you.

you couldn’t find the strength nor care to respond. something in you made you put the body of your cat aside, onto the carpeted floor. it wouldn’t do well being left like this, but you wanted it to be here with you for a little while longer.

“could you take me now?” you asked, weakly. you finally took a glance at him, hoping that there was enough room in him for this one pity. “i want to die, connor, i want to die and see them again.” you thought back to your sibling, then to your mother, and then to the rest.

surely, connor would allow you this one wish. he owed you this for all of the damage he caused, so of course, he would say yes. of course he would take you to your death.

except, wishful thinking was stronger than a dream coming true.

“i am a chariot for death, not death itself. you are not on the list for me to reap, little dove.” his brown eyes were unemotive as they looked at you.

not even the reaper himself was willing to take you away.

the paleness of his skin and the darkness of his hair gave him little humanity but a reminder that he was a deceiver. he took everyone precious and dear to you while pretending to be your friend. 

what more did he want now, when he already took everything?

never again, you decided. never again will he bestow his merciless touch upon anyone, human or not.

“you will stay with me, only me,” you began, voice stuttering with fear. “you will touch no one, and reap no one.”

letting out a shaky breath, you rose from the carpeted floor until you were standing before him. he was menacing in height, but most unsettling of all was his face – lifeless with an inhuman calmness. even the dead looked more human than him. 

and when his eyes found yours again, and you noticed a flicker of amusement bubbling underneath.

for almost a second, connor’s mouth fluttered into a smile.

he leaned down and took you by your chin. his grip was gentle but it was the coldness of his fingers that shook you, made you stiffen and aware of the intensity of his touch.

“allow me to make you a promise, little dove,” connor let his words drift off, testing its impact on you as he watched. “i promise you that i will reap nobody you love.” the same hand gripping your chin slid across your jaw, before cupping the back of your head.

he was picking you apart with just his gaze, and you were enthralled, allured by his beauty and danger. “ and in return, your life is mine. if i want to reap you, i will reap you, whenever and where ever. but i confess, it was always you, from the day i met you i knew –– that your soul was the one i craved to have. _not even death will tell me what to do_.”

his touch made you shudder and draw back and press your back against the wall. connor’s gaze devoured you, inch by inch and skin by skin. but it was his words that trapped you.

you were now marked by the reaper, and your soul was his to take.

it was through the small blessing of silence that calmed you. even then, something within your bones had spread like cancer. immediately, you knew what to respond, but your voice didn’t feel like your own. 

“my soul is yours, connor.”

he tilted your head up and leaned down as he brushed his lips over yours. they were thin and delicate, impossibly gentle against your own. but they felt like daggers too, cutting at your flesh with merciless fervor.

and you realized –– _oh no_.

you yearned for this gesture, for this touch. the gentleness quickly turned into savagery as you leaned into him and drew his lips into your own. the hand on the back of your head gripped too much hair and skin until you were sure there was blood drawn.

you couldn’t care for the prickling pain or the way his teeth felt like fangs. you only knew the affection between lips and the sweet caress of cold hands upon a warm body.

—–

life, as you knew it, went on sluggishly slow. but it changed in every possible way and soon you were enrolled in community college. as you promised, you made no connections outside of professional and academic reasons.

connor himself became a fickle presence in your life. he sometimes appeared between the cracks of a door, as a shadow underneath the tree, or as a voice above your shoulder.

you couldn’t find comfort in his presence, but you were still attentive to his appearances.

“connor, where did you put my books? i have to read them.” your eyes strained underneath the darkness to see him. the dim light hanging from the ceiling was laughably weak up until the darkness started moving. the shadows in each corner receded and converged into a humanoid shape that appeared in front of the wall.

“i have them,” he replied, holding one in his hand. “i was reading them, actually, so i could better understand your kind.”

you scoffed, throwing your hands up in defeat as you sat down against the wall.

the tapping of keyboard clicks was the only sound in the small room. vaguely, you heard a low hum coming from where connor stood. your eyes flit to him, noticing that he was reading one of the books. the cursive letters of shakespeare were stitched on the red cover in gold.

“there is so much death in his works,” connor commented, flipping over a page. he didn’t look up even as you stopped typing. “i think i would enjoy spending time with him and his characters.”

“what does that say about us?” you asked, setting your laptop down to the side.

connor’s eyes looked up at yours, his eyebrows furrowing gently, perhaps in contemplation. the shadows suddenly bled down the walls and covered your lap. he was sitting before you, cross-legged, mimicking your form.

the warmth of the room was gone, replaced by the piercing coldness of connor’s shadows. even the light flickered dimly again, drawn behind the darkness. unconsciously you leaned back, your head touching the wall as you looked at him.

“so many of them will die for love, and for what they believe in.”

connor’s words were soft, a whisper. it would be a reach to say there was emotion in his tone; he wasn’t human.

“and yet, you would die for nothing.” his gaze became sharp and his words cold, the same coldness that gripped your limbs and turned them stone and stiff.

“you’re right,” you said, calmly. it was the cool acceptance of your choice which made him tilt his head, setting the book aside as he placed a finger over your lips.

he was picking you apart again, his gaze boring deep into the marrow of your bones. when his finger prodded between your lips, you willed them to open, before noticing him slipping inside. he tasted like night, cold and sharp.

“save yourself the thought, little dove,” connor said.

and with that, he drew back and took the book into his hands again.

it was maddening to see how easily he could slip from a cold and unbearable creature to someone so human. while he didn’t move from where he sat, you still felt a heaviness lifted off of you. you finally found the ability to breathe, your eyes watching him.

“back to my previous question, what does this book say about us?”

you visibly winced when connor looked at you again. a sly smile crossed his face.

“i think, at least, that mortals are fully equipped to understand life’s greatest treasures. these stories are fascinating in their wit and tragedies.” he slid himself next to you and tentatively, you leaned over to look at the page he was on.

“the merchant of venice, such an entertaining play,” connor said, sighing.

later, you decided connor could keep the books he took from you.

—–

“what if i found someone?”

under the darkness of the night sky you gazed at the stars. the quiet hissing of the shadows bled unto your form, consuming your flesh and clothing. you swatted at them, annoyed at their constant presence. connor lingered somewhere behind you, standing tall as he looked at your face.

“you won’t.” his voice was deliberately harsh and cold. there was something else, too, of a possessiveness that made your skin tingle.

you tried to sit up, only for his shadow to keep you down. “hey, stop that!” you tried to sound strong but instead, a whine followed as a tendril slid down your neck, causing budding chills to flank its path.

he was now looking elsewhere, you watched as his gaze settled upon something, before turning to you. he held up a hand and snapped, before the shadows covering you receded into the darkness and into him. something soft and furry settled against your exposed arm.

your cat, back from the dead – _almost_.

it was just a shape made out of the same shadows that held you down. except, there was a solid gold collar around his neck. it was the same collar you had given him, back when you first adopted him.

tentatively, you reached out a hand towards him. the shadow flicked its tail as it rubbed against your fingers, just like what your real cat did. you propped yourself onto your elbows as you watched him climb up onto your stomach and curl into a ball.

“just like the real thing,” came connor’s pleased voice. you heard the grass crunch underneath his shoes, as he made his way around. you looked up at him, mouth slack as you tried to understand; to process.

connor’s face left no room to guess what went through his mind. just as you sat up, the shadowy form of the cat disappeared. “why did you do that?” you asked. you were not mad or anything, perhaps shocked and confused, but not angry. a part of you was almost relieved to finally see your companion again.

“my presence will not satiate your need for companionship, so i gave you your cat,” connor stated.

immediately, your mind thought back to your previous comment towards connor. what if i found someone? you still remembered the edge in his voice when he responded. something clicked in you then, that maybe ––

“you are making sure i keep my promise, is that right?” your breathless voice caught amongst the chilly winter air. this answer pleased connor enough that a faint smirk appeared on his face. dipping your chin down, you watched the grasses swaying against the wind. against your better judgment, you looked back up to him, eyes lit with determination. “i won’t break our promise, connor.”

“and what if you do?” he quirked his eyebrow and you knew he said it as a challenge.

already, you could picture the end result of you losing this challenge as his shadows curled around your arm. thinner tendrils wrapped themselves against your neck, gently pressing down. you should be losing your breath but instead, nothing happened. 

“whatever you want,” you replied, softly, conceding your defeat and submission. your life was his, not yours. he was the executioner and you were under his blade. 

only a knowing smile was his response.

—–

if you looked back, perhaps this was all a cruel joke to see you slip and have him reap his reward. for a time, you were content with the decision. you would gladly die just to end this life. but that was years ago, and now you were older.

the good days were just beginning.

connor watched over all of these with quiet attention. he stowed himself away amongst the shadows whenever you were out, following you until you returned home. the cat he created was now another constant in your life, realistic enough that you could pretend it was your original cat.

but something still wasn’t right.

“they look happy.”

it was your comment which summoned connor to your side. “how so?” he inquired, eyes boldly watching the couple before you.

deciding not to answer him, you shook your head and downed your cup of coffee. the nurse scrub still smelled too much like hand sanitizer and the sterileness of hospitals. at least, its significance marked a progress.

“you know, little dove, you tempt me,” connor’s cold words dripped into your ears. you stopped your last sip of coffee to set down your cup. his brown eyes, earthy and indifferent, watched you. “you decided on a career where death is iminent, so how can i not reap any souls?”

you wanted to remind him about the promise, just like how he brought it up under that night. but a part of you wanted to dance around the subject, knowing all too well of his games. “i’ll make sure they don’t die.” your voice was low, a harsh whisper, and a promise.

at first, you thought connor would scoff, or even laugh. rather, connor tucked in a slip of hair back behind your ear, his fingers surprisingly warm and human-like. the coldness of his gaze fell into a gentle softness that made your heart freeze.

“i’m sure you will act upon your pledge to them,” he said.

just as connor pulled away, a voice called out to you.

“hey (name)!” your colleague rushed at you, sweaty with brown hair sticking to his forehead. gavin, for all his worth, was in his civilian clothing. yet he looked tired, and a faint odor clung onto him. you furrowed your brows and gently laid your hand on your bag, preparing to leave.

“hello gavin,” you murmured, tired eyes turning to a dark corner of the room. connor’s shadows hissed, but they were inaudible to the ears of everyone else. connor himself stood behind you, body rigid and posture stiff as he looked at gavin.

gavin’s smile was all teeth as he slammed his hands upon the roundtable. you almost jumped, before you noticed him leaning his upper body forward. “please tell me you want to go see a movie with me tonight, please.” beside you, connor let out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling.

for the first time, you didn’t know what to respond. the correct choice was to reject him, but he looked so earnest and confident.

and the lonely, deathly miserable person in you screamed for you to say yes.

“remember my words, little dove.” connor whispered with such venom in his words that you couldn’t help but shudder. the act didn’t go unnoticed by gavin as he rounded the table, took off his jacket, and placed it on you. the sweaty stench he carried wasn’t at all a good scent, but the gesture made your cheeks warm and heart flutter.

you pulled the edge of his jacket closer to you. “…thanks,” you muttered, unable to look at gavin in his eyes.

“anything for you, (name),” the man replied. “so uh, will you go out with me?”

this time, his words were a bit firm. with the way he presented his jacket, you couldn’t say no. and, it was only for one time. you didn’t love him nor even remotely consider him a close friend, but you wanted to thank him at least for everything he did for you. 

your eyes briefly passed over connor, thinking that he would be indifferent to the conversation.

instead, you saw him with his jaws clenched and eyes brim with distaste. lost in the confusion and excitement, you didn’t notice gavin placing his hand on your shoulders and turning you to face him. you weren’t quick enough to prevent a kiss from him either.

when gavin told you he will text you, your eyes had strayed to connor again. shadows wrapped themselves around his upper body, moving like striking snakes.

“…why would you do that?” his words were chillingly calm, but you knew better than to think he was in a good mood.

“maybe you could have my soul early,” was your curt response, before you turned on your heel and moved away.

both of you knew that this wasn’t what you meant.

—–

it was your scream that rattled the air. all around you, people came from all directions, their noises slowly turning into white static as you kneeled beside gavin’s body. he was breathing but not moving, bleeding but not dying.

gavin will make it, that you were certain of.

when you saw connor’s presence behind some onlookers, you remembered what you said. he would never touch anyone, and he wouldn’t touch gavin. instead, he would come for you.

connor was now just feet away, with the wounded body of gavin separating the two of you. except, he didn’t come near, he didn’t let the shadows reach you. he stopped just before gavin and stooped down. darkness swallowed connor’s arm as his fingers lengthened, shaping themselves into talons. red vein-like markings threaded through his skin as he reached for gavin’s chest.

your eyes went wide and a shrill cry escaped your throat. tears that should have stopped ran down your cheeks again. your hand shot out and reached for his, only to recoil back as something bit at your flesh. invisible flames singed at your skin, you had no choice but to watch as connor’s hand plunged in.

it was too late for you to beg him as connor drew out a round and shimmering ball of light. gavin’s body went limp underneath, the signs of death quickly paling his face.

with shaky effort you stood up, knees in pain and body aching

your mouth felt dry and lips chapped as you walked away from the scene. the air was warm but a chill was coiling itself around you. gavin’s jacket felt heavy and uncomfortable, but you wore it stubbornly, unable to let it go.

the streets became dark and the atmosphere still as you walked down, unsure of where to go. a heavy whip of wind, cold and sharp, brushed past your figure.

connor was walking beside you, his shirt wrinkled and tie missing. several locks of hair had fallen down.

you couldn’t look at him in the face. nor could you imagine if he showed something on his expressionless face, or what he was thinking.

satisfaction? pleasure? _guilt_?

no, he could never feel – _he wasn’t human_.

you didn’t know you were still crying, not until connor brought his hand up to brush the tear away. with what little impudence left, you smacked his hand away, before stepping onto the sidewalk.

“perhaps, i should apologize,” came connor’s words. slow and deliberate. it didn’t sound honest enough for you, and you ignored it. by now you were too tired to even move a limb. so you sat on the edge, feeling the cement dig into you.

“why did you do that, connor?” you found your voice bit by bit, even if they sounded dry and weak. “you should have taken me for knowing gavin. remember what we promised?” you dared yourself to glance at him. instead, he looked down at you, features full of sharp lines and harsh edges, a calculating coldness that made your insides shiver.

you were about to continue with the spark of courage that budded within you, when suddenly you found yourself splayed on the ground, with connor on top, holding your wrists to the ground.

behind him, the world was submerged in darkness. even the brown of his eyes was dark and pitch black. the intake of breath was yours as you awaited whatever deliverance he will impart upon you, be it punishment or not.

then, amidst the silence and suffocating blackness that was his domain, connor spoke, voice cruel and icy, “you never knew, little dove, of my intents.” for the first time, you noticed the hunger in his words and the way he looked at you. the blackness of his eyes shone a lingering thirst, a startling difference to his usual nonchalance.

you felt something grip at your heart. it should have been terror, because terror would be easy to excuse the way your heart beat so erratically and the sweat forming in your palms and on top of your forehead. but instead it wasn’t terror. it was ––

 _desire_. pure and raw desire.

disgust coiled in you at the idea. to desire was an unforeseeable feeling, an unwanted feeling too. but it was so apparent now that you couldn’t deny it.

you wanted to think about gavin and what connor did to him – what you did to him.

except, with connor pressing himself against you, you couldn’t think about anything else.

“what is this intent of yours then?” you said, eyes gazing into his. you didn’t miss the way his fingers felt like talons scrapping at your delicate skin. or how the tip of his tongue poked out to lick at his lips. your heartbeats were louder, pushing blood into your cheeks.

eyes narrowing, connor lowered his head until his lips hovered over yours. “to keep you with me, as long as possible,” he said, drawing each syllable against your flesh in warm breaths. you never wanted to kiss him and push him away at the same time. connor seem to notice the turmoil in your eyes as he let out a dark chuckle. “you should never trust a monster like me, little dove. we are wicked and cruel.”

he laughed, for the first time, dark and rich, but full of menace. he drew himself up, watching your face slowly turn into shock.

“wait, what are you saying?” a part of you didn’t want to hear what he will say next. but you couldn’t stop yourself from keeping your attention on him. he now commanded everything, from your attention, to your mind, and to your heart.

a smirk graced his face. all of a sudden, you saw the brown of his eyes turn into something else, something colder and gray.

“you were never an omen nor a cursed soul, i simply took the people from you so you would have no one else to turn,” a snarl accentuated his sentence and a flash of brilliant white teeth that looked too much like fangs. all of a sudden, the spell surrounding you broke.

something shattered within you as connor, the boy you grew up with, smiled down at you with cruel intent.

_we never keep our promises._

_you should never trust a monster like me_.

this all began with a childhood playmate and a slip of a voice next to your ears, so gentle and boyish that you thought him kinder.

from the beginning, he made his marks and had manipulated himself into your life, little by little.

the executioner forced you onto his stand, as he forced you to watch him kill everyone else.

“little dove, you’ve already forfeited yourself the day you pledged your soul to me.” his dark voice coiled like a serpent against you. “this body, this mind, this soul–– _i own them_.”

at this moment you couldn’t find it in yourself to say anything.

you’ve lost. but it was a loss that took nothing.

indeed, what little could he take now besides your soul?

the strength in you came in and out. with what little of it you could muster, you said, “do you love me, connor?” it was just a thought, so bravely and stupidly put into words.

“love isn’t an emotion i am capable of,” connor said, his eyes flashing dangerously. “still, you are mine. i can perform loving acts, but i will never love you.”

“will you reap me now?” there was nothing to live for anymore. every person you will ever form sliver of positive relationship with will die by connor’s whims. this world was just you and him, a flickering dying light and a constant shadow.

“if i want to reap then i will, now stop talking and take what i give you,” he said, talking as if he was scolding a petulant child. impatience dug at the fringes of his words before he dipped his head down and consumed your lips with his own.

you tasted sweet coppery blood in your mouth and the unmistakable feeling of sharp teeth digging into delicate flesh.

as much as your mind screamed, your heart knew it was correct. you were his, irrevocably and unconditionally his by the promise of your own words. connor had weaved a spell that trapped you to him, and it was undeniable how good it felt to be possessed by him.

especially when his gray eyes remained so full of desirous beauty that drew you in.

especially when he lowered his head, allowing you to see the smooth expanse of flesh you wanted to kiss.

especially when connor pressed a gentle kiss upon the tip of your nose, his hands forcing your body to arch against him. 

especially when he held you, and–with little reason to think otherwise–you pretended that he loved you.

and, oh, pity your poor human heart.

trapped forevermore in his unyielding darkness.

alone, upon the sea of your damnation.


End file.
